Renewables to provide cheap power, energy minister says

ANKARA

Turkey aims to counter rising global energy prices by developing more renewable energy projects, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said on Feb. 22. 

“One of the biggest instruments in decreasing the effects of the energy price hikes in the world is to add more domestic and renewable resources to the [power supply] system,” he said during a meeting with representatives of the green energy associations at the ministry building in Ankara.

“Then, we will see that the effects of the overseas prices will decline significantly,” he added.
The representatives of the associations pledged contributions to this process, according to the minister’s remarks.
Turkey’s renewable energy installed capacity rose by four-and-a-half-fold in the last two decades to 53,787 megawatts, said Dönmez, adding that the country met 36 percent of its power needs through renewables in December 2021 despite a drought created a setback in hydropower generation.

Wind power’s share in Turkey’s overall electricity generation reached 10.6 percent last year, he said.
The share of wind and solar power in energy generation hit 13.4 percent, he noted.
“The first solar power station was established in 2011,” the minister recalled, saying that now the installed solar energy capacity is around 7,881 megawatts.

“We are talking about a sector that has a history of only 11 years. Today, we see a sector which has expanded across Turkey, reached a locally-produced equipment usage rate of 70 to 75 percent and started making exports and providing consultancy abroad,” said Dönmez.
The government is working on schemes to provide further value-added-tax and tariff exemptions for solar and wind energy investments, particularly for unlicensed power generation.
“In the upcoming 5 to 10 years, many consumers will also turn to be producers. Not only households, but many industrial sites, universities, public institutions, agricultural businesses and municipalities have already started making investments in this field,” the minister said.

A total of 238 renewable projects in Turkey account for an investment volume of $19.4 billion, according to a new report released by Ernst & Young with the support of the European Climate Foundation in July 2021.
Power consumption reached 28.60 billion kilowatt-hours last month, while electricity production also increased by 6.48 percent to 28.56 billion kilowatt-hours compared to January 2021.
Out of January’s total production, hydro plants generated 16.45 percent, whereas 26.6 percent was derived from natural gas and 21 percent from imported coal.

The share of local coal plants in electricity generation was 16.2 percent. Wind plants generated 10.85 percent and the remaining share came from geothermal, fuel oil and biogas plants.
In recent years, droughts have lowered the share of hydropower stations in the country’s power generation. In general, gas-powered stations filled the gap caused by droughts.